The History of the Academy Awards
With Max Alvarez Film Historian
Monday, March 25, 2002; 3 p.m. EST

"America and the world saw history made last night when, for the first time ever, the Best Actor and Best Actress Academy Awards were both won by African American stars: Denzel Washington for "Training Day" and Halle Berry for "Monster's Ball." And on the same show, the Academy movingly paid tribute to pioneering black actor Sidney Poitier, the first great African American leading man and a towering figure in American film." Read the full story Oscar's 74th Outing Runs Long on History, Short on Fun (Post, March 25).

Film historian Max Alvarez talked about the history of the Oscars and the politics of the annual Academy Awards.

For the past four years, Alvarez has worked as film coordinator for National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Since 1998, Alvarez has delivered nearly 50 lectures on cinema for The Smithsonian Associates, the education arm of The Smithsonian Institution. He has developed, presented, and co-presented Smithsonian seminars on directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa, and Orson Welles. He has also taught courses on the works of D.W. Griffith, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Lois Weber, and Robert Altman.

His background as an entertainment journalist has included writing for The Independent Film & Video Monthly and Landmark Theatres' FLM magazine. A former film critic, he regularly reviewed international cinema for The Washington Diplomat and was a contributing reviewer for The Milwaukee Journal. He has also written for the Chicago Tribune's Friday section.

As a historian, Alvarez has specialized in researching and indexing a wide variety of film industry periodicals dating back to the early 20th century. In 1982, he published (through The Scarecrow Press) Index to Motion Pictures Reviewed by Variety: 1907-1980.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Boston, Mass.: Do you think the "race card" was overplayed a bit?

Max Alvarez: Greetings, Academy Awards aficionados. I have been invited by washingtonpost.com to discuss last night's telecast and to take your questions about the event and other Oscar-related issues. I also will be providing an historical overview of the Academy Awards, particularly the business and political sides--which can often get as dramatic as some of the nominated films.

The behind-the-scenes operations of the Oscars are not often revealed to the public beyond the usual red carpet pre-show interviews. But it is a very intricate and involved process, not to mention controversial, and I would be happy to reveal some of the trade secrets about how the awards process works.

It was, as you know, a very long telecast (if not the longest to date) and notable for a variety of reasons. I will be interested to hear your opinions as to what was and was not effective and how, if anything, it may have differed from previous telecasts.

So, on to the questions...

As for the "race card" issue being overplayed. Well, unfortunately, the Academy does have a very weak record of handing out statuettes to people of color. Before last night, it was determined that 3% of the Acting awards had gone to people of color since the awards were introduced in the late 1920s. It was time for a change, I think.

Bethesda, Md.: Dear Mr. Alvarez,
It was nice that Sidney got the award but as the first great leading african american as stated in the Washington Post, wasn't that incorrect? What about Paul Robeson? Wasn't he also a great leading man?

washingtonpost.com: For Black Actors, a Golden Night (Post, March 25)

Max Alvarez: Excellent point, Bethesda. Robeson was a leading man and was starring in studio films (e.g., THE EMPEROR JONES) as early as 1933. There were also scores of African American men who starred in films produced especially for black cinemas in the U.S. during the silent era and through the 1940s.

Boston, Mass.: Did you agree with the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress winners? I really thought Sissy Spacek would win, and Jennifer Connelly's performance, while good, didn't seem particularly superior to some of the other nominees in her category. Do you think she has become Hollywood's new "golden child" and was awarded partly for that and the hype surrounding the film?

Max Alvarez: It's difficult to know the reasons as to why certain industry people win Academy Awards. A lot of it has to do with their actual work in the film; sometimes it has to do with their standing in the industry; other times it has to do with the fact that they have been overlooked in the past, and so on.

I was surprised by Spacek not winning, but there was also some animosity towards Miramax Films (producers of IN THE BEDROOM) because of their arguably overzealous methods of pandering to Academy votes. And Ms. Spacek might have gotten caught up in those politics. My choice might have been Judi Dench in IRIS, but that was another Miramax title!

And, yes, there is often a flavor of the month element in certain celebrities winning Oscars, particularly if the hype is working in their favor.

Washington, D.C.: How much influence did the Academy's decision to give Poitier an honorary Oscar have on the voters looking at African-Americans in the acting categories? Was the Poitier award announced before the nominations were set?

Max Alvarez: Unfortunately, I can't recall the chronology of events in terms of when the Poitier award was announced. It certainly was already in place prior to the actual voting ballots being sent in. There is a case to be made that the voting was coincidental. I suspect the Russell Crowe incident at the BAFTA awards may have worked in Mr. Washington's favor.

Washington, D.C.: With "A Beautiful Mind" -- One fact omitted from the movie that no one talked about is that Alicia Nash is from Latin America (Columbia or Bolivia, I think). She has an accent. Why hasn't anyone mentioned the lack of casting a Latina to portray her, or even an Anglo actress who could speak with a proper accent?

So much was made Russell Crowe being an Australian and his ability to speak with a West Virginia accent to portray John Nash.

Your thoughts?

Max Alvarez: Latino/a roles are often given short shrift in Hollywood. Over the years we have had an abundance of Central or South American roles being played by non-Latinos, and this is yet another example of that problem. It only indicates how far the film industry has to go in terms of improving various ethnicities on screen.

Annandale, Va.: After all the talk and suppposed controversy, A Beautiful Mind still came out on top, but Crowe did not. How much of a factor do you think it was that voters simply did not find him suitable as a person to put alongside Tracy and Hanks as the only back-to-back winners?

Max Alvarez: Well, as I mentioned, I think Crowe's behavior at the BAFTA awards left a bad taste in the mouths of many Oscar voters. That incident seemed to get a lot of coverage, and it is possible that the other controversies surrounding the film (historical inaccurasies, etc.) were not as widely talked about in voting circles. How an actor is viewed outside his work plays an important role in whether he will get the award (a factor that also worked against Sean Penn this year).

Gaithersburg, Md.: What is the origin of the name "Oscar" and who, if anyone, does the statue represent?

Max Alvarez: Bette Davis is often credited with nicknaming the statuette after her Uncle Oscar. In any event, the term was first used in 1935.

Fairfax, Va.: Have the Oscars ever seen an uglier campaign than this year's mudslinging at "A Beautiful Mind"? Were the Oscars always so political?

Max Alvarez: Yes, it was an ugly campaign, wasn't it? Actually, the Oscars have always been intensely political--even more so, in fact. A brief bit of history: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences was actually set up at the behest of Louis B. Mayer (MGM) in 1927 as a way for the studios to fight organized labor. In other words, the Academy would serve as a front organization or studio union in order to deal with the actors and technicians' groups. By the late 1930s, people starting boycotting the awards (screenwriters in particular) for this reason, so that led to the Academy backing off on direct political involvements.

Pittsburgh, Pa.: What was the deal with all the taped segments last night? I thought the Oscars was supposed to be a live show. This was one of the worst produced shows in distant memory. The only highlights for me were Halle's speech of course, Whoopi's entrance, and watching that hot-young thing with his hand on Ian McKellan's throughout the night.

Max Alvarez: The taped segments serve several purposes. First, they help promote the film industry internationally (the Oscars, after all, are free advertising for the Hollywood studios). They also provide "filler" for the abridged versions of the telecast that air in other parts of the world--remember, not everyone around the globe is watching the event live as we are. I don't think last night's segments were higher in number than other years--but definitely there were more this year than last year.

And, yes, it was a fairly dry event.

Arlington, Va.: Actually, Crowe is a New Zealander of Maori descent.

He moved to Australia when he was a child. Initially, his career was hindered by a missing front tooth, which apparently his agent paid to have replaced.

As an Australian, I can hear his rather Aucker accent loud and clear, no matter what he does. However, it has never distracted from his power and talent as a thespian, however.

Max Alvarez: Thank you for clarifying this. I had been told a while back about Crowe's New Zealand background, but most people I spoke with seemed surprised to hear this.

Takoma Park, Md.: I thought "Lord of the Rings" deserved Best Picture, but I'm aware that Hollywood does not reward Science Fiction/Fantasy movies. Have any Best Picture or other top awards gone to a Science Fiction/Fantasy movie?

Max Alvarez: Now that you mention it, no. 2001 lost out to OLIVER! STAR WARS lost out to ANNIE HALL, etc.

Oscar attendee...: Halle Berry may have deserved her award, but her speech was awful. Everyone who was there was so uncomfortable. You know how you get when someone's emotions are all out of proportion to the event? Lots of seat-squirming going on there. By the time she got around to thanking her lawyer (who got her out of the hit-and-run a few months ago), the audience was yelling at her to wrap it up already. I'm sure that wasn't obvious on the broadcast.

Max Alvarez: Thank you for the inside scoop! I was doing a lot of squirming in the living room. It reminded me of Ms. Paltrow's display back in '99...only with actual tears on the face. Thanks for sharing....

Jim Broadbent?: How does Jim Broadbent fit into the "flavor of the month" scenario? Do you think that the he was being awarded for his work in several of this year's lauded films, including Iris?

Max Alvarez: I think Mr. Broadbent's win is a very pleasant example of a superb thespian being awarded a statuette. It does happen on occasion! And it was, I think, a surprise. I think the "flavor of the month" situation factors in when someone of middling talent is given a huge buildup by the studio or publicists...which was happily not the case with Mr. Broadbent in IRIS.

Washington, D.C. Georgetown: This might be out of your bailiwick, but I noticed that one of the Survivor: Africa alums was onstage escorting JLo & Whoopi last night -- Whoopi's dream hallucination guy with the black hat was Silas Gaither.

Do you have any insight as to how this occured? Survivor's a CBS show, the Oscars were ABC. Did he slip past the ABC folks, or was this intentional?

Max Alvarez: Good catch, Georgetown...but you are correct in that it is out of my league. Wish I knew the answer...

Washington, D.C.: I was disappointed with the usual very classy Julia Roberts last night. She totally ruined the moment when she opened up the envelope and blurted out "Oh, I love my job ... the Oscar goes to ..." duh, every person on the planet knew that Julia was rooting for Denzell. Sorry, Julia, you blew it on that one.

Max Alvarez: Yeah, it was not an evening highlight. Someone really needs to sit these stars down and explain "dignity" and "professionalism" to them. And, if memory serves, she was a bit irritating last year, too.

Washington, D.C.: My favorite part of the telecast was the explanations of the technical categories provided by eminent writers -- but why couldn't they have run tapes of the writers reading their own words?! Least favorite: the dull orchestral medley of previous best score winners and the Cirque du Soleil bit (yes, it was cool, but it had NOTHING to do with the Oscars! and it was hard to appreciate on TV).

I don't think Whoopi Goldberg is a very good host. How about Nathan Lane next year?

Max Alvarez: I was also surprised that they didn't have tapes of the writers giving the explanations. It would have been very nice. I noticed there was a lot less of Ms. Goldberg this year, perhaps because her previous hosting work ended up running way into overtime. But still the show was too long.

The Nathan Lane suggestion is a very good one!

New York, N.Y.: Mr. Alvarez--agreed that race was a very important factor here, but I thought it undercut Poitier's influence to have only African-American actors commenting on him. I know how earth-shattering many of his movies were for them, but he is also an amazing actor who has contributed wonderfully in ways that transcend his race, and it would have been nice for them to have focused, yes, on his race, but also on the other aspects of his career. Why do you think the organizers decided to focus the short movie about him on only African-American actors' reactions to his work?

Max Alvarez: I felt the same way as you did. There should have been white actors commenting about his influence. But this, I think, points to the problem with the Academy Awards: they are woefully clueless on race matters and what the appropriate way to deal with the subject should be. I am sure you noticed how the telecast director kept cutting to closeups of African-American celebrities during Poitier's speech. That is very offensive, and it is not the first time they have done that. In the past, they randomly cut in shots of blacks in the audience when a) a black person is on the stage presenting an award; or b) a documentary with a black theme is discussed or whatever.

Poitier did transcend race as any great actor does. It is a pity the Academy did not seem to have a grasp on that.

Re: fillers: For one, I love the movie clips. It's what I like best and I can never get enough. Reminds me why I love movies so much (it's difficult to get that feeling from watching current releases). Tacky? Maybe. But true.

Max Alvarez: It also is fun seeing so many famous clips assembled in a single segment...provided, of course, the clips are not to rapid-fire.

Not Bette's Uncle!: She supposedly commented that the statuette's butt looked like her husband Oscar's.

Max Alvarez: Oooops! Thank you. I admit I pulled that out of my faulty memory with unforgivable haste. I knew I should havesaid "I think" or "if memory serves" before hitting the "submit" button. Thanks for staying on top of his.

Harrisburg, Pa.: It is understandable that we focus on the actors. Yet, what about all the people who work behind the scenes. Who are some of the great Oscar winners in the lesser known categories, and have there ever been people who really dominated their various field (i.e. cinematography, sound, etc.)?

Max Alvarez: Very good point. I know the great cinematographer Robert Surtees took home a few statuettes in his day. Unfortunately, I'd have to do a bit of digging to come up with some other technical names for you.

Waltham, Mass.: I kept waiting for Halle Berry to thank her supporting cast, ESPECIALLY Billy Bob! Does she now need to go on a press tour explaining her glaring omission?!

Max Alvarez: The ommissions are usually quite glaring in these acceptance speeches. Perhaps the winners should write down the names on a slip of paper...as a few wise recipients did last night.

Washington, D.C.: Did anyone else notice that the real Alicia Nash is a Latina, but her character in the movie is entirely Anglicized? (No accent, for example)?

Russell Crowe spoke with a West Virginia accent to play John Nash. What gives?

Max Alvarez: Someone just commented on the Anglicizing of the Nash character. As far as the accent situation goes, it should not be too surprising given the cavalier way in which the film reinterpreted the actual events.

Harrisburg, Pa.: Who gets to sit in the Academy Award presentations? Do nominees get an allotment of tickets? Are the rest of the seats taken by Guild members? If not, what non-Guild members are permitted to attend? Are seat fillers Guild members, and how are they chosen?

Max Alvarez: I don't know how many tickets nominees are allotted, but Academy members are given preference in terms of seating locations. I am not aware of the seat-fillers being affiliated with any particular industry guild and also do not know how they are selected for the job.

Washington, D.C.: This year they did it again as far as the "In Memoriam" segment. They left out Rachel Gurney(from PBS's Upstairs Downstairs)who passed in November. I recall in the 1998 Ac.Awards they left out Jack Lord(Haw.Five-O)who had died in January 98. Why certain omissions of well known and beloved personalities.

Max Alvarez: The omissions may be due in part to simple oversight but also (in the case of Gurney) to their distance from Hollywood film production. The In Memoriam segments often include international actors/directors but they are by no means comprehensive.

Washington, D.C.: Doesn't it bother anyone else that people rarely thank the writers? Especially the producers when they win best film...
the film wouldn't have existed if the writer hadn't created it out of thin air. The writer creates the story, the fabulous characters (that the actors thank the directors for giving them the chance to play) and the scenes. If writers didn't exist, movies would be a bunch of people standing around on a set with nothing to do and nothing to say.

Max Alvarez: Ernest Lehman (NORTH BY NORTHWEST) would be cheered by your remarks. When he was given a special Oscar within the last two years, he was quick to remind the audience of the writer's importance. Historically, the industry has never treated screenwriters with a lot of respect--perhaps that's why the writing salaries are so high! There's also a problem with writing credits not necessarily representing all the people who worked on a script (many uncredited), and that can be frustrating, too.

Silver Spring, Md.: I find myself sad over the fact that I haven't been exposed to the short films or the animated shorts that are worthy of Oscar attention. How can I get a chance to see these wonderful pieces?

Max Alvarez: That has been a longstanding problem, but things are looking up. I know that Visions in DC recently booked an evening of the 2002 Oscar-nominated short films, and these are being handled by a distributor who is taking them around the country.

In Memoriam: Those mentioned actors were TV actors. The Academy is Motion Pictures. They should have been honored at the Emmys.

Max Alvarez: Good point.

Help!: I can't be the only one wondering this...Where did Will Smith go? When they announced the Best Actor nominees, he wasn't in the theater anymore, but I can't find anything explaining where he went!

Max Alvarez: We were wondering the same thing! They suddenly threw up a color photo of him. Very odd...and mysterious.

Oscar attendee again...: The Cirque Du Soleil piece was the absolute fave of everyone in attendance. Maybe it wasn't obvious if you weren't there, but all of the choreography was inspired by action from different movies, which were projected on the back scene. Really incredible how they were coordinated.

And everyone was teary after the score medly. A lot of the decisions to include those things are probably made by people who are there every year and put more consideration into how it will play live.

Max Alvarez: Yes, a lot of those numbers play quite impressively if you're there in person.

Sleepy head!: Why on earth does the show go so very late? Seriously, I understand it takes place three hours earlier on the West Coast, but it's still really annoying to have to stay up so late on a Sunday night to get to the "good" awards!

Max Alvarez: Programming-wise, traditions are hard to break, and keep in mind that there was a time three decades ago when the awards usually clocked in at two hours.

In Memorium Redux: Then what about Carrol O'Conner? True, he's done movies, but come on, his last one was probably 30 years ago.

Max Alvarez: True, but he was nonetheless doing quite a bit of screen-work in the late '60s.

LA Writer: Actually, the credits on the script are carefully arbited by the Writers Guild and are very fair to the people who actually do the work. And while it may seem like writer make a lot, their salaries are a pittance compared to everyone else involved with the movie - actors, director - cinematographer, etc. And most screenwriters sell a script maybe once every 2 or 3 years, so spread out that $....

Max Alvarez: Yes, the arbitration process is very intense, although I know that there continues to be controversy among writers over who should and should not be credited on a picture. It's a pity there aren't "additional dialogue by" credits anymore...it would probably solve a lot of the arbitration disputes easier. And as far as the money goes, yes, the payments are a pittance compared to others involved in the production.

Somewhere, USA: I completely Agree with New York. For a man who transcended race Poitier's tribute should have done the same - however I thought that Poitier himself graciously transcended it yet again in his acceptance speech - saying that he never could have accomplished what he did if it hadn't been for the work of a handful of visionary (and though he didn't mention it - clearly white) directors and producers. A class act, that Poitier.

Max Alvarez: Sorry...I was temporarily kicked off the Internet!

I agree that Poitier's speech was a class act.

Attendee again...: Each nominee gets a few tickets - some more than others (read: actors). Most of the rest are Academy members and their families (not any of the Guilds - WGA, SAG, etc.) There are also some politicians (Mayor Hahn) and in particular this year were Hollywood leaders, who were so instrumental in revitalizing the area and bringing the Oscars back to their original home on the Blvd. (president of the Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood's City Councilmember, etc.) In my opinion, they should have received a public thank you for the years most of them spent toiling away to make it happen.

Max Alvarez: Good info. Is it true that the Kodak theater is smaller than the Dorothy Chandler? I visited the Chandler a few times and was surprised at how much smaller it is in person. But it doesn't surprise me about the political nature in which tickets are made available.

Somewhere, USA: Cube 23: For such a somber telecast, I expected the In Memoriam to be much more comprhensive and more celebratory. Does that make sense? Perhaps I was overmontaged at that point.

Max Alvarez: Good point, although it was even colder last year. They really rushed through it in 2001...and that was the year Stanley Kramer died.

Somewhere, USA: The In Memorium also ommitted Anthony Perkins' widow, who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. Thought for sure she would be mentioned, even though she only did a few B movies.

Max Alvarez: A powerful piece of information, thanks.

Washington, D.C.: E! Online is reporting that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's daughter Willow was rushed to the hospital for an ear infection with a 103 fever, so they left to be with her.

Max Alvarez: That explains the discrepancy...

Washington, D.C.: Isn't good acting alone good enough anymore to make a performance or an Oscar night special? All the attention to race and ethnicity - is it really necessary to point out that Russel Crowe is of Maori descent? And if so, why doesn't anybody feel compelled German or Scandinavian or English ancestry?

Max Alvarez: Good acting should be enough to determine a performance at Oscar-time, true. But as an intensely political event, it seems inevitable that other issues will factor in.

Boston, Mass.: Why does Julia Roberts continually try to use big words either incorrectly or mispronounce them?! Come on, "lo-quIcious?" Made me shudder.

Max Alvarez: Perhaps the studios need to hire people to train stars to walk, talk, dress, and speak as they did during the Golden Age.

Kodak Theatre: The Kodak is LARGER than the Chandler, but smaller than the Shrine. The awards have been alternating between those two for the past several years. A lot of media has been saying it's smaller than the Chandler (which is where the LA Philharmonic plays). Not true.

Max Alvarez: Thanks.

Stanley who?: Kubrick you mean?

Max Alvarez: Actually, no, I meant Kramer. You see, Kramer seemed to symbolize everything Hollywood strives for: commercial films that tackle difficult subjects but are accessible enough to reach wide audiences. I was surprised they didn't have a special segment devoted to Kramer last year.

Alexandria, Va.: Speaking of Paul Robeson. Do you think that the Academy will ever get over its anti-Communism and honor Robeson properly?

Max Alvarez: An excellent question. I don't see that happening because the Academy has yet to really deal with the whole 1940s-1950s blacklisting issues. While there have been superficial attempts to give belated credit to blacklisted screenwriters who were denied credit in the '50s, it is too little and too late. And the issues of actors blacklisted for leftist beliefs has never been properly addressed either.

Washington, D.C.: PLEASE explain the difference between the two "Sound" categories!

Max Alvarez: I am not a sound expert, but basically the categories are divided, I think, by the people who "design" the soundtrack (in other words, those determine how the sound will be used throughout the picture) and those who actually edit the sound affects in the proper designated order. Please keep in mind that I am doing a bit of guesswork here.

Laurel, Md.: Does Berry's award for Monster's Ball make the NCAAP Image Awards, which proclaimed her Best Actress for "Swordfish", look silly?

Max Alvarez: It had certainly better!

Lord of the Rings: I think their losing this year was an indication that Acadamy members knew that they would have at least 2 more times to laud the trilogy.

Max Alvarez: ...and that the Oscars tend to be aimed at more "adult" (re: non-special effects) projects.

Bethesda, Md.: Good acting should be enough and race and gender shouldn't be an issue. BUT it is! The fact that so few Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have won awards shows why this is important. The fact that Alcia Nash could not be played by a Latina is amazing. The fact that less than 5 blacks have EVER won awards is incredible.

Max Alvarez: The record is even worse for Asian actors and Middle Eastern actors. I wish I could say it was simple flightiness on the part of the Academy voters--their inability to make decisions outside of the studio hype and give attention to some of the outstanding performances that are in danger of being overlooked. But considering that this is an industry that historically has a very poor record of representing people of color and various ethnicities on screen, it should not be surprising that some of the backwards attitudes extend to the nominating and voting process.

Max Alvarez: Dear folks:

I am afraid that time has run out. I wish I could have gotten to all your questions, but I thank you for participating. In closing, I would just add that the Awards process has become an extension of the marketing process for a motion picture. Studios spend a lot of money buying trade advertisements to get Academy members to consider voting for a film or its princpals. These are called "For Your Consideration" ads, and they are the source of controversy. The Academy has publicly disapproved of such tactics but no effort to ban the ads has been made. It's basically viewed as a part of doing business.

See you at the cinema!

Max Alvarez

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